Monty Python's John Cleese Transformed Superman by Making 1 Change to His Origin

Summary Superman lands in the UK, named Colin Clark, with a different upbringing & daily life struggles.

Colin works at the untruthful Daily Smear, reveals his identity, and only then moves to the Daily Planet.

Despite hardships, Colin/Kent Clark upholds heroic ideals, proving that origins don't define a hero — especially Superman.

One of the most well known comic book origins is that of Superman. It's been parodied over the years by just about everyone, and the planet of Krypton is well known in pop-culture. Plenty of writers have tried to leave their touch on Superman's iconic origin, and John Cleese of Monty Python fame made a few hilarious changes to Superman's origin as well.

In Superman: True Brit by Kim Johnson and Cleese, Superman's ship doesn't land in the United States as usual, but instead lands in the United Kingdom. Superman is found by the Clark family, where he's given the very British name of Colin Clark. From here, Superman's teenage years are mostly what readers would expect — but he does end up with wildly different costume honoring his new country of origin.

Colin grows up as Superman usually does and goes through the same issues, such as needing a pair of glasses to keep his heat vision in check. One of the major differences is the Clark family being far less supportive of Colin's powers, even going so far as saying he should never use them, because: what would the neighbors think? This sense of shame prevents Superman from using his powers until his early twenties.

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John Cleese Gave Superman a Very British Origin Story

Superman: True Brit by Kim Johnson, John Cleese, John Byrne, Mark Farmer, Bill Oakley, Jack Morelli, and Alex Bleyaert

While Superman is far from perfect, his upbringing did a lot to shape him into the hero that he is today. Under the careful eye of the Kent family, Clark managed to develop his powers and learn how to use them during his teenage years. The Clark family isn't nearly as accepting as the Kent family, with Colin's father even buying a book to teach his alien son how to use self-hypnosis to suppress his powers. This strategy is so effective that Colin completely forgets his super-strength, which results in him nearly killing someone when he impales them — with a cricket bat.

After this traumatic event, Colin goes on to work at the newspaper known as the Daily Smear instead of the iconic Daily Planet. Instead of being a beacon of truth that tries its best to help society, the Daily Smear, as the name implies, is all about money, and the owner, Mr. Whyte-Badger, doesn't care who he has to smear to make money. At one point, Whyte-Badger even instructs Colin to simply make up details about a story if necessary to sell papers. Despite working at a newspaper that pushed him to lie and lacking the support of his parents, Colin Clark still stood up for what was right and became a hero.

The British Version of Clark Kent, Colin Clark, Worked For a "Horrid" Newspaper

No matter what hardship Superman goes through, he'll always turn out as a hero, and even growing up in the horrifying land of England couldn't change that.

The Daily Smear eventually comes across Superman's secret identity and threatens to release it. Wanting to prevent them from profiting off him, Colin reveals his identity on his own. This choice completely destroys the Daily Smear its readers turn against it. From here, Colin decides to change his name, taking on the name of Kent Clark, and moves to America to work at the Daily Planet at the invitation of Lois Lane. This just goes to show that no matter what hardship Superman goes through, he'll always turn out as a hero, and even growing up in the horrifying land of England couldn't change that.

Superman: True Brit is available now from DC Comics!